Employee Benefits Surveys: 5 Questions to Ask

Whenever you think about why an employee might want to work for your company, one of the things you might not think of are the benefits involved. They might want to come for the salary, the workplace environment, the niche of the company, but why would they come for the benefits? More and more employees are coming into the job market looking for some benefits, and that’s where an employee benefits survey comes in.

Why are employee benefits so important? Well, employee benefits are what people are looking for nowadays. The benefits help to shape the culture of your business, but in order for them to be effective, you need to have a way to connect those benefits to the daily lives of your employees. That’s where the employee benefits surveys come in. They help to see all of the employee wellbeing in your company.

These employee benefits surveys allow you to see what type of benefits your employees love the most, and then use that information to create benefits packages that bring your employees into the fold and make them happy. Now that you know why you need a survey as well as an employee benefits questionnaire, what do you put on it?

Pros and Cons Of A Survey

Pros and Cons Of A Survey

• Anonymous
• Easy to get feedback from everyone

• Varying degrees of effort in your answers from different staff members

Things Your Survey Should Do

First, your employee benefits survey should be done on an annual or biannual basis. Second, it should give you some level of insight as to where your employees are with their benefits. Are they happy with the benefits they are being offered?

It should also give you some real insights, so don’t just make your employee benefits satisfaction survey full of several yes or no questions. Instead, have a level of questions that can be asked. Some yes or no, but also a few that are short answers. Others can be rated on an ‘agree/disagree scale’ where employees can put in how they feel about certain statements.

Here are some of the employee benefit survey sample questions you can ask your employees:

1. Are you Satisfied?

This is a good way to get everything started with your employee benefits survey. First, ask about some of the amenities your business offers. Are your employees satisfied with the work environment? Are they satisfied with the healthcare package? Are they happy with their paid sick days and holidays? There is a high correlation between employee satisfaction and productivity, so start with this.

You can either keep it surface level with yes/no answers or let things go deeper with other questions. Set the answers on an agree/disagree slider or allow your employees to make some short answer responses.

2. What Benefits Would You Like?

While it isn’t feasible to respond to every single request, you might find that certain employees want to have certain benefits for them. Some employees might enjoy a free lunch provided to them, so they can network, communicate with colleagues, and of course, make sure that they aren’t spending precious time figuring out where to go to lunch! Plus, a communal table can promote respectful workplace interaction.

Other employees might want the ability to have a game room or lounge area where they can all take breaks and unwind for a bit throughout the day. Downtime is something that everyone needs and it is a great way to get employees socializing and working as a team to improve employee wellbeing and build good work relationships.

If a lot of your employees are pregnant or just had a new family, they might talk about their desire for paid parental leave so they can spend time with their kids. Keep an eye on these requests and make sure that you can accommodate as many as you feel comfortable with.

3. Do You Need Health and Wellness?

Health and wellness are a very important part of any employees’ daily routine. Make sure to ask if they want a gym area in the office or perhaps a gym reimbursement if you know of a local gym in your area. Having gym membership discounts or a space to work out during the workday can make everyone happier.

Working out reduces work-related stress, allows employees to burn off extra tension, and gives everyone something to do whenever they’ve hit a wall. Even a place where employees can just go and walk outside for a few minutes is something that can be very useful.

4.  How Do You Feel About Your Work Life Balance?

This might be the most important employee benefits survey question of all. Work and life are two sides of the same coin.  If you are having trouble managing one, then the other falling apart is not far behind. Asking your employees about their work life balance allows for you to get a real insight into how they are doing.

Of course, everyone’s life scenario is different, but that doesn’t mean that the answers can’t be used. If a lot of people are having trouble with work life balance, then that means you might be able to do something to help.

See if they like coming into the office if they have the time to get to their families, and how time management can prevent stress in the workplace. If they are having trouble working at home, you could get them a bulk office furniture order. 

5. What Do They Need?

Admittedly this employee benefits survey question is for you as the employer, but after reading through all the surveys and responses you should ask what your employees need. Refocus your efforts on what they need and then make sure to provide that need. If your employees need more time outside and need a place to take breaks, focus on getting that. If they want a section of the day where they can connect with their fellow employees, then maybe make a happy hour Friday.

Employee benefits are only going to get more and more important, and they are one of the first things that new employees look for. Make sure that you don’t just have the benefits as options, but that you also make sure to check in with your employees and see what they think about them.

Having employee benefits surveys allows for you to get some knowledge of what your employee incentive ideas are, and that you can make sure you are creating the best workspace for your employees. After all, if you have happy employees, then your business can only start to look up!